Kim Chan

Kim Chan was a Chinese and American actor and producer. He was most notable for his roles as Lo Si, also known as The Ancient, in Kung Fu: The Legend Continues and Mr. Kim in The Fifth Element.

Early life, family and education

Kim Shung Chan was born in Shanghai, to a family originally from Taishan, Guangdong. Together with his father and two sisters, Chan immigrated to the United States in 1928, first living in Rhode Island before settling in the Bronx in New York City in 1938. Chan worked as a maître d' at the House of Chan family restaurant in Manhattan. Having held a life-long fascination with the film industry, he left this position in the 1940s to pursue an acting career, which led to his father cutting off ties with him. Although Chan was happy with the higher wages for work as an extra, he had frequent financial difficulties and was homeless for two years. He primarily worked as a construction worker during this time.
Chan never married, but had romantic relationships with non-Chinese women. He had no biological children, but had an adoptive son, Michael Chandler.

Career

Chan was a familiar character actor, especially when he was elderly. An early role that brought him notice was in the Martin Scorsese film The King of Comedy with Robert De Niro and Jerry Lewis, in which he played Lewis' butler.
He played the character Lo Si, also known as The Ancient, in 52 episodes of Kung Fu: The Legend Continues from 1993 thru 1997. He also played the villainous monk Ping Hai on the TV series. The series was a revised version of the original 1973 classic, Kung Fu with both series starring David Carradine. He played the recurring villain The Eggman in four episodes of the science fiction TV series Now and Again. He appeared in many guest roles in series, including Mad About You, Law & Order: Criminal Intent, and Law & Order: Special Victims Unit.
Other film roles include Uncle Benny Chan in Lethal Weapon 4, the father of Chon Wang in Shanghai Knights, Mr. Kim in The Fifth Element, Fuji in Who's the Man?, Benny Wong in The Corruptor, The Master in Zen Noir, and a cameo appearance as a waiter in Private Parts. He was also a producer on ''Zen Noir.''

Death

Chan died on October 5, 2008 in Brooklyn, after being hospitalized for respiratory disease. His age at death is most commonly reported as 90, although he had reportedly told Linda Wang that he was 93 shortly before he died. His niece Judy Gee also claimed that he was likely 93 or 94 years old.
He was featured in a photography exhibit when he was in his 90s. In October 2009, a year after his death, Chan appeared on the cover of the journal The Gerontologist beside his photography portrait.

Honors and awards

In November 1999, the Screen Actors Guild presented Chan with an award for lifetime achievement. He received another award for lifetime achievement in August 2004 at the Rhode Island International Film Festival.

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes	-
1957	A Face in the Crowd	Commercial Spokesperson	No Dialogue / Uncredited	-
1970	The Owl and the Pussycat	Theatre Cashier		-
1979	Squadra antigangsters	Chan Chu Kai	Uncredited	-
1982	Soup for One	Harold The Cook		-
1983	The King of Comedy	Jonno		-
1984	Over the Brooklyn Bridge	Japanese Buyer #2		-
1984	Moscow on the Hudson	Chinese Customer		-
1984	The Cotton Club	Ling		-
1985	Desperately Seeking Susan	Park Bum		-
1985	Streetwalkin'	Desk Clerk		-
1986	9½ Weeks	Chinatown Butcher		-
1986	Gung Ho	Member of Board		-
1986	Jumpin' Jack Flash	Korean Flower Vendor		-
1986	No Mercy	Old Asian Man		-
1987	Fatal Attraction	Party Guest	Uncredited	-
1989	Cookie	Hong Kong Tailor		-
1989	Second Sight	Chinese Store Owner		-
1990	Cadillac Man	Dim Sum Cook		-
1990	Alice	Dr. Yang's Patient		-
1991	Thousand Pieces of Gold	Li Ping		-
1991	American Shaolin	Master Kwan		-
1993	Who's the Man?	Fuji		-
1994	Robot in the Family	Massage Parlor Patron #1		-
1996	Breathing Room	Meditation Teacher		-
1997	Private Parts	Waiter		-
1997	The Fifth Element	Mr. Kim		-
1997	The Devil's Advocate	Chinese Man		-
1997	Kundun	Second Chinese General		-
1998	Lethal Weapon 4	Benny 'Uncle Benny' Chan		-
1999	A Fish in the Bathtub	Medicine Shop Owner		-
1999	The Corruptor	Benny 'Uncle Benny' Wong		-
1999	On the Q.T.	Asian Busker		-
2002	High Times' Potluck	Saki		-
2002	Rollerball		Uncredited
2003	Shanghai Knights	Chon Wang's Father		-
2004	Zen Noir	The Master		-
2005	The Honeymooners	Quinn		-
2006	16 Blocks	Sam		-

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1985	The Equalizer	Man Sitting on Steps	Episode: "China Rain"
1986	Outlaws	Mr. Luk
1990	Law & Order	Juror	Episode: "Indifference"
1991	Law & Order	Restaurant Manager	Episode: "Heaven"
1993–1997	Kung Fu: The Legend Continues	Lo Si / Ping Hai	54 episodes
1999–2000	Now and Again	The Eggman	4 episodes
2002	Law & Order: Criminal Intent	Mr. Hsu	Episode: "Chinoiserie"
2004	Law & Order: Special Victims Unit	Mr. Zhang	Episode: "Debt"